Musings of a geek.

Category: Mountain Biking

I took the 29er out for a trail ride tonight. After riding the Moonlander for so long, it was an entirely different experience. It was nice to have some suspension under my arms, but it was much more of a workout than with a fatbike.

The Moonlander has traction galore, and just goes. The 29er has to be carefully balanced to maintain traction. With trails still a bit wet from all the rain we’ve had over the past week, I found myself spinning out on a few of the hill climbs.

Turning with a fatbike is also a challenge, until you get used to the characteristics of a giant tire. You really have to push the bike over to turn, and the grip of the fat tire holds that corner. I found myself corning as if I was still on a fatbike, and then proceeding to shoot off in the direction I was turning because the skinnier tire corners easier.

Overall it was a great ride, but I’m sore now, and will probably be feeling it in the morning. Need to get out on the 29er more this year.

I was finally able to get out and go for a bike ride. First time on the bike since January. Beautiful weather is finally arriving in central NY. I attempted to ride a few days ago but there was still too much snow on the seasonal roads for my skinny tired Mamba.

This time I brought the freshly cleaned and tuned up Moonlander, and was very glad I did. The snow that was left was very soft. I ended up airing the tires down to about 3 psi just to get some decent traction through the snow. Just for reference, I normally ride around 5-6psi with 4.8in wide tires on the Moonlander.

I ended up riding for 6-7 miles as best as I could tell. I don’t have a computer on my bike to tell me exactly what I did, and while I carry my iPhone, I don’t run a GPS app either. It felt good to be back out on the bike again, and surprisingly, my legs and ass aren’t killing me.

The upcoming forecast has rain and some snow in the beginning of the week, but should clear up. I’d like to be able to get a few rides in this week.

My biggest complaint about winter biking is cold feet. Now that I converted to clipless pedals, I don’t like to trail ride with flat pedals. Wearing my regular snow boots on flats is even worse, as my feet were sliding all over the pedals.

If I wear my normal clipless shoes in the winter, my feet end up freezing, even with heavy wool socks. The steel plate in the bottom of the shoe, with an uninsulated shoe draws all the heat from your foot. Last time I rode in the winter with my clipless shoes, I nearly got frostbite on my toes.

Unfortunately, winter boots designed for clipless riding are expensive. They all start over $200, and some are even more. That’s a lot of money for a pair of shoes that a purpose built and only used part of the year. Well, I broke down and ordered a pair of 45nrth Wolvhammer boots.

The Wolvhammers are the best rated winter boots for clipless riding. Several of my friends have them, and have replaced other clipless boots with Wolvhammers. I’m eagerly awaiting for next winter when I’ll be able to ride with warm feet.